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BLOG: Eakins talks 'aggression' with system play

by
Chris Wescott
/ Edmonton Oilers

Oilers Head Coach Dallas Eakins has talked this week about continuing to move the team forward when it comes to system play and his defensive system. He is looking towards continuity in the system and installing more aggression after the Olympic break.

Eakins clarified what more aggression means when it comes to his system.

“To put it simply. it’s pressure on the puck everywhere,” said Eakins. “Everytime there’s a puck movement, there would be somebody from us going to it. There’s a lot of systems where teams will just commit one guy to the puck. The one guy’s actually checking two players and the other ones are falling back. We’ve had that approach for a while to teach where we’re supposed to be. The next step will be… That’s the aggression part of it. Aggression’s maybe not the right word, that sounds a little drastic. It’s just more, to put it simply, pressure on the puck, in all areas.”